نشریه مطالعات خلیج فارس
سال پنجم شماره 4 (پیاپی 20، بهار 1399)

As the main trade route of Iran, the Persian Gulf has always played a key role in the burgeoning of the market-based livelihood of Iran and the countries on the coasts of this waterway. Any changes due to internal and external factors can naturally affect the economic status of this region. The history of Iranian’s seafaring in the Persian Gulf dates back to ancient times, i.e. 500 BC. However, after two periods of prosperity, during the Akaemenid and Sassanid eras and after the arrival of Islam in the country, seafaring lost its previous status. At the same time, with Nader Shah Afshar’s coming to the throne in Iran (18th century AD), the Persian Gulf developed particular importance. During this time, European (British, Dutch, and French) East India companies and Iran’s neighbors (Ottoman Turkey and Oman) were actively in pursuit of their political and commercial purposes in the Persian Gulf. Upon the decrease of Ottomans’and Oman’s political and military influence in the Persian Gulf and its adjacent lands as well as the increase of trade in the region, which was mainly controlled by European East India companies, Nader Shah, who was well-aware of this situation, concentrated Iran’s foreign relationships, more than any other field, in the Persian Gulf. Following a descriptive-analytic method and through providing an overview of the fluctuations in political and commercial relationships, this paper discusses the significance of the Persian Gulf in Iran’s foreign affairs, the background of shipbuilding in the country, and the importance of Iran’s navy during the Afsharid period in this region

bstract The first steps in the field of archeology in Hormozgan province were taken almost at the same time with other corners of Iran about 150 years ago and, from the very beginning of such endeavors, Hormozgan was a center of attention to related studies. Similar to other places in Iran, these activities began by Western researchers and were followed by Iranian researchers three decades later. Nevertheless, in spite of their historical and cultural richness, these islands remained unknown due to the cross-sectional nature of such studies and the absence of continuous and extensive excavations and investigations there. In this study, the author has tried to explore the shortages of this research area through a review of previous archeological activities in Hormozgan Islands. The obtained results indicate the significance of archeological studies on these islands and the necessity of expanding them more than ever before. The lack of consistency and the absence of a general plan are among the most noteworthy defects of such studies. Unfortunately,a greatamount of thecollected data during therecent decadesare kept only in theform of unpublished reports in the national library of Iran. In many cases,even these preliminary reportsare notavailable and, thus, the results of some of the related studies are not accessible. In spite of all the defects, the findings of the investigations, excavations, and speculations of the young generation of Iranian archeologists during the last two decades show signs of the beginning ofa new stage ofarcheological studies in this region in Iran. The present paper presents a chronological review of the fluctuations in archeological activities on each of Hormozgan islands.

Khuzestan has been famous for palm cultivation and exporting dates since long ago. Banu K’ab is also one
of the important tribes in Khuzestan that are involved in cultivating palm trees. Banu K’ab, which was a famous
tribe functioning as a local government, initially lived in Qapan city (also called Cha’ab). When Banu K’ab
moved from Qapan to Shadegan, Abadan, and Khorramshahr in the time of Sheikh Salman bin Sultan (1747
AD), they earned a large part of their income from growing palm trees in the fertile lands of Khuzestan. Following a descriptive- analytic method, this study examines the history of the development of date palm-related
culture and economy, place of palm cultivation in Khuzestan and important date palm cities in this province, and
the export of Khuzestan’s date to Persian Gulf countries during Banu K’ab period. The results of this study reveal that, given Banu K’ab’s influence in the Persian Gulf region, the export of Khuzestan’s date to Persian Gulf
countries increased through the Port of Khorramshahr during the times of Sheikh Maz’al and Sheikh Khaz’al.

The Persian Gulf and its coasts and hinterlands have been the scenes of several political- military conflicts. Since the second half of the 18th century, this region was the cradle of a number of new political-religious changes which provoked the reaction of some of the regional and trans-regional rulers and governments. One of these changes was the rise of a new power, the Wahhabi House of Saud, in the center of the present dayArabian Peninsula. It gradually expanded its domain of power to the coasts and hinterlands of the Persian Gulf and, in a way, established its hegemony in the southern parts of this waterway. Following a descriptive analytic approach and a documentary-library method, the present study has dealt with this problem. The findings demonstrate that, through exploiting the existing conditions, this ruling power initially managed to change the balance of power and political equations in the region to its own advantage to a relatively large extent. As a result, for more than half a century, it overpowered its weakened neighboring ruling systems in the Persian Gulf, including the Qajar Iran and the Ottoman Empire, and introduced itself as the new authority in the region. Nevertheless, after some time, the first period of the empowerment of the House of Saud came to an end.

Al-Awal Island (Bahrain) has always been of particular political, social, and economic importance to Iranian and Muslim kings and rulers. With al-Awal Island or today’s Bahrain as its central island in the south of the Persian Gulf, the archipelago of Bahrain was a part of the vast and powerful country of Iranian kings, that is, the Achaemenids and Sassanids in ancient times and later Iranian- Islamic governments, until the time of its independence. That is why it has been a focus of attention to some Iranian and Muslim geographers. Following a library descriptive method, this paper examines the background, significance, and strange features of this island, including the Holy Quran’s reference to prophet Moses’ presence there; the existence of some animals, such as Whales and giraffes, and palm-groves and tropical fruit and pearl-hunting there, as well as Iran’s long sovereignty over Bahrain since the Achaemenid period until its independence relying on the sources written by Muslim geographers and other historical references.

Halford Mackinder, British geographer, and Alfred Thayer Mahan, naval officer and historian, divided world powers into land powers, with Russia at the center, and sea powers, with America and Britain as the great players, in the world. Later other geographers developed this idea, and many of them introduced the countries on the coasts of the Persian Gulf as the most important parts of the Rimland Belt and the Caucasus and the Persian Gulf as the energy heartlands of the world.Accordingly, as a part of this belt, the Persian Gulf has always been a conflict zone for maritime powers such as Britain and, later, the USA. They have continued the reinforcement of their military presencein this region until today. Following an analytic-descriptiveapproach, this paperexamines the geopolitical interests of sea powers in preserving and controlling the Persian Gulf. The findings of this study demonstrate that, at the time being, one of the most important geopolitical codes of maritime powers is to maintain their military presence in the Persian Gulf.